Safety attachment for rowboats and the like



J M 195$ J. P. GABRIEL SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ROW BOATS AND THE LIKE Filed March 17, 1947 Inventor John F. Gabriel Patented Jan. 17, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ROWBOATS AND THE LIKE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety attachments for row boats and the like and the primary feature of the present invention is to provide outriggers carried by the gunwales of a boat that are highly buoyant and are adapted to prevent overturning of the row boat, canoe or the like to which attachedl Another important feature of the present iiivention is to provide safety outriggers of the character referred to that are quickly and easily attached to the gunwales of a small boat and are conveniently removed from the boat when so desired.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide an outrigger attachment for row boats and the like adapted to make said boat safe for use on relatively rough water, by children as well as adults.

A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a device of the class described that is simple and practical in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a usual row boat the buoyant outriggers attached thereto;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 thereof, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the outriggers removed from the row boat.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral 5 represents a closed hollow substantially rectangular airtight outrigger or tank having its forward end wall 6 preferably inclined upwardly so as to afford no restricting element to the forward movement of the usual row boat I to which the outrigger is attached.

The means for attaching the outrigger to the gunwale of the row boat 1 comprises substantially L-shaped brackets designated generally by the numeral 8 having their vertical portion 9 suitably secured to the innermost wall of the outrigger and its horizontal portion l0 suitably secured to the bottom of the outrigger to support the outrigger substantially horizontal.

The upper free end I l of the vertical portion 9 extending well above the outrigger is bent inwardly horizontally as at l2 to bear against the gunwale of the boat and the innermost end 13 is turned vertically downwardly as at It to receive a horizontally positioned set screw 15 having a wing head I6 for clamping engagement against the gunwale.

In applying the outrigger to a row boat, canoe or the like the brackets are merely hung on the gunwale as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing and the set screws are tightened to bear against the gunwale whereby the top of the outrigger is in horizontal alinement with the upper edge of the gunwale and the bottom of the outrigger rests on the surface or slightly above the water line of the boat.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a, preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A device of the class described comprising hollow buoyant substantially rectangular outriggers with fiat bottoms, and L-sha-ped brackets carrying the outriggers and having one end adapted to clampingly engage the gunwales of a boat for holding the outrigger-s in position at the sides of the boat, said brackets fitting against and being secured to one side and bottoms of the outriggers to maintain the same substantially horizontal and spaced from the boat.

JOHN P. GABRIEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

